It's Time to Unite the Lube Industry

by Pat Wirth
NOLN Contributing Writer

Recently, Consumer Reports Car Care Blog ran the following: “Myth: Engine oil should be changed every 3,000 miles.”

The post continued: “Despite what oil companies and quick lube shops claim, it’s usually not necessary. Stick to the service intervals in your car’s owner’s manual. Under normal driving conditions, most vehicles are designed to go 7,500 miles or more between oil changes. Changing oil more often doesn’t hurt the engine, but it can cost you a lot of extra money. Automakers often recommend 3,000 mile intervals for severe driving conditions, such as constant stop-and-go driving, frequent trailer-towing, mountainous terrain or dusty conditions.”

The blog responses ranged from overwhelming agreement to overwhelming disagreement and an endorsement of synthetics. After reading this, an irritated fellow Automotive Oil Change Association (AOCA) operator asked the question, “Why do we continue to sit back and take it?”

That’s where joining our industry trade association comes in.

Quick lube operators collectively provide tens of millions of oil changes annually — more preventive maintenance bay-for-bay than any other automotive service provider category. We are in the trenches every day and see the “results” of customers following OEM recommendations and oil monitoring systems — slime, sludge and spent fluids. Human nature entices many to “cheat a little” and extend intervals even further than recommended.

While we all understand the importance of “educating” our customers about “severe service driving conditions,” it’s a lot easier said than done when one recognizes that customers come to us for convenience; they want to get in and out quickly! If we perform thorough service reviews with each customer, it does not allow much time to educate our customers about service intervals.

This is just one issue we face as an industry; a bigger one with far-reaching implications is that we have never completely banned together to combine our talents and resources to work collectively to educate the motoring public and possibly even develop our own service interval guidelines based on scientific research. It may take a village to educate a child, but it will take a united effort among all lube operators and suppliers to educate the public about what we see and know every day. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if we could launch a “Got Milk?”-type campaign backed by scientific data to educate the public about the truth of extended intervals and severe service driving conditions? That kind of marketing effort is not cheap.

AOCA is the industry’s recognized leader and voice, but our membership represents only a portion of the industry. It doesn’t matter if you are a franchisee, branded or independent, our day-to-day operating problems are the same. Some franchised organizations and branded groups hold annual meetings to discuss proprietary information and participation in those is encouraged, but we need to have a united voice to represent the industry. It’s possible that what might be in the best interest of an independent operator may not be in the best interest of a franchisor or oil company, so while an individual operator may be unable to independently address an issue because of that relationship, the trade association may be able to help.

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